Differential gearing



A. 0. WILLIAMS.

DIFFERENTIAL'GEARING.

- APPLICATION FlLED MAY 27, l!"

A. 0. WILLIAMS.

DIFFERENTIAL GEARING.

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DFFERJENTAL GEABJNG.

Application filed May 27,

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that l, finivano U. VWinnieivis, a citizen ot the United States, and a resident of South Bend, in tie county ot Joseph and State of indiana, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Dii'terential Gearing, ot which the following is a specilication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to differential gearing tor motor vehicles, and has for its object to provide certain improvements in diterential gearing by which the usual ditierential action ot the driven shafts will be permitted, and in addition, the tendency oic the wheel having less traction to race will be reduced, without however providing a positive loclr. ln other words, it is my object to interconnect the members ot the difterential gearing by a friction creating device which reduces, but does not entirely prevent, the tendency of the wheel having less traction to race. l accomplish this ol ject as illustrated in the drawings and as hereinafter described. l/Vhat l regard as new is set forth in the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a central vertical section ot the ditlferential gearing, showing part ci" the propeller shaft and the drive gear carried thereby in elevation,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation ot' the difierential gearing, the right hand end member of the housing as shown in Fig. 1, being removed and certain parts being broken away, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, 4 5 indicate driven shafts or axle members, which are journaled at their inner ends in suitable bearings in the end members 6 7 of the diii'erential housing. 89 indicate intermediate members o'l the differential housing, the tour members 6, 7, 8, and 9 being secured together by bolts 1 0-11, arranged in pairs, as shown Vin Fig. 2. Freterably there are three such pairs of bolts, as shown in said ligure.

12 indicates a beveled ring gear, which is secured to or formed integral with the member 6, as shown in Fig. 1, and meshes with a beveled gear 13, carried by the usual propeller shaft 14E. 15-16 indicate spur gears,

' Specification of Letters Eatent.

patented Nev, 15, 191s. serial no. 236,789.

mounted res-iectively on the inner ends of the driven shafts Al-, and suitably keyed thereto. 1'? indicates spur pinions which are mounted on the bolts 10, and mesh with the spur 1G, as shown in Figs. 1 and indicates right hand spiral pinions which arevals'o mounted on the bolts 10 adjacent to the pinions 1'?, with which they are non rotatably connected,beingpreterably formed integral therewith, as shown in F ig. 1. 19 indicates spur pinions, similar to the spur pinions 17, which are mounted on the bolts 11, and mesh with the spur gear 15, as shown in Fig.' 2. 20 indicates left hand spiral pinions, similar to the pinions 18, which are mounted on the bolts 11, and are secured to or formed integral with the pinions 19, as shown in Fig. The spiral pinions 18 and 2O on the bolts 10*11 of each pair intermesh, as shown in Figs. Zand 3, and thereby operatively interconnect the spur pinions 17 and 19 to which they are respectively se-V cured.

it will be apparent that when the propeller shaft 1li is driven, as by a motor of any suitable description, the differential drive gear 12 will be rotated, thereby rotating the differential housing,` and revolving the spur pinions 17 and 19 about the anis of the driven sha-tts t-. 1f both drive 'wheels carried by the shafts l--5 have equal traction, the spiral pinions 18-20 operate to hold the spur pinions 17-19 against rotating relatively to each other and to the spur gears l5-16, and consequently the power will be transmitted equally to the shafts 1 5. lt, however, one wheel has less traction than the other, the spiral pinions serve as a friction creating device which prevents all the driving power from being transmitted to the wheel having less traction, which would result in the racing of the latter wheel, and transmits a considerable portion ot' it to the other wheel, without however preventing diiiierential action as between the two wheels. The relative distribution of the power as between the two wheels in rounding curves, or in slippery places where one wheel has more traction than the other, depends upon the pitch of the teeth of the spiral pinions, which may vary from 10 to 50 degrees, and I, therefore, do not limit my invention to making the spiral pinions with teeth having the precise angle illustrated in the drawings. Neither do I limit myselr1 to using the number of pairs of spur andl spiral pinions shown in the drawings, as a greater or less number of pairs may be used if desired.

V'Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a diEerentia-l, the combination of a housing comprising end and intermediate members, bolts securing said housing members together, two shafts extending into said housing and having their inner end portions journaled therein, two gears iXed on said shafts adjacent to the end portions of said housing` respectively, two pinions mounted on said bolts in staggered relation to each other, said pinions being in mesh with said gears respectively, and spiral gears rotating with said pinions respectively on said bolts and meshing with each other,

adapted to permit said pinions to rotate in opposite directions.

2. In a differential, the combination of a housing comprising two end members and two intermediate members, bolts securing said housing members together, two shafts extending into said housing, and having their inner end portions journaled therein, two gears fixed on said shafts adjacent to the end portions of said housing respectively, two pinions mounted on said bolts in recesses formed in said intermediate members in staggered relation to each other, said pinions being in mesh with said gears respectively, and spiral gears rotating with said pinions respectively on said bolts and meshing with each other adapted to permit said pinions to rotate in opposite directions.

ALFRED O. WILLIAMS. 

